Container for waste material

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a container ( 1 ) for waste material comprising wall portions ( 4, 6, 7 ) defining an internal void space and at least one opening ( 21 ) through which waste material may be inserted and/or withdrawn from said void space, wherein a roller shutter ( 22 ) is provided which is movable from an extended position in which the opening is closed by the roller shutter to a retracted position in which the opening is substantially unobstructed, the roller shutter being wound onto a barrel arrangement ( 26 ) as it is retracted, wherein in the retracted position that portion of the roller shutter wound onto the barrel arrangement is located within the internal void space of the container defined by the wall portions.

The present invention relates to improvements to a container, inparticular, a lid system for a container used for storing wastematerial.

Containers for storing waste material are well-known, a particularlycommon type of container being an open-topped receptacle known as a‘skip’. Skips are used to collect relatively large volumes of wastematerial which are then removed along with the skip by a wasteprocessing company. Another type of waste container which forms asubstantial part of the commercial waste disposal market is the ‘rearend loader’ container. Rear end loader containers commonly have twoopenings, one at each end. The loading end is used by the end user forinserting waste material into the container. The other end of thecontainer forms the discharge end through which the waste material isremoved from the container by means of a specialised mobile compactionvehicle. In typical usage, the rear end loader container remains on theend user's premises and the mobile compaction vehicle periodicallyvisits the end user's premises to remove the stored waste material forfurther processing or land fill.

Since the rear end loader containers are commonly left for long periodsof time at the end user's premises, they are subject to many adversefactors. These include vandalism, which may involve damage to thecontainer or removal and littering of waste material from the container;arson attacks, in which the contents of the container are set alight;theft of material from the container perceived to have some secondaryvalue; and unauthorised use of the container, wherein unauthorised usersdeposit their waste material in the container.

Currently, the loading end of the rear end loader container may beadequately secured by the provision of a pair of hinged steel platedoors which can be locked to one another. This is possible since theopening in the loading end is on a substantially vertical face of therear end loader container and is relatively small. As such, the size andweight of the hinged doors required is such that the end user may openand close the doors without undue effort. Also, the height of typicalrear end loader containers is such that access to the hinged doors isnot overly difficult.

However, hinged doors are not suitable for closing the discharge end ofthe container which is typically provided on a sloping surface of therear end loader container. Also, the size of the orifice at thedischarge end of the rear end of the container is substantially greaterthan that of the loading end meaning that the weight of a hinged doorwould be such as to be unsafe for an end user to open or close. Somemeans is required of securing the opening at the discharge end of thecontainer which is easy to operate by the end user.

Current efforts to address this problem have resulted in the use ofplastic lids formed as a single piece. However, such lids are stillvulnerable to vandalism and arson attack and, even though the lid ismade of plastic, the physical effort required to open and close the lidis often beyond the capabilities of the end user.

DE 4441314 A1 discloses a device providing a covering for the upperopening of an open-topped skip. The device comprises a roller shutterwhich can be slid and/or rolled up. Guide rails are provided on whichslats of the roller shutter are mounted by means of bearings. The rollershutter in the rolled up condition is stored on a rotatable drum housedin a housing which is bolted or otherwise fixed to the exterior of theskip at the front end. A disadvantage of the container of DE 4441314 A1is that the external dimensions of the skip are increased since thecovering apparatus must be mounted on the exterior of the skip. As aresult, the skip can not easily be used with conventional liftingapparatus or vehicles. Further, the device is unsuitable for use with arear end loader container which has openings at both ends since theshutter device would substantially impede access to one or other of theends of a rear end loader container. Further, DE 4441314 A1 does notdisclose an effective, vandal-proof means of securing the lid.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a securable lid fora container such as a rear end loader container which overcomes some orall of the problems and disadvantages outlined above.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a container for wastematerial comprising wall portions defining an internal void space and atleast one opening through which waste material may be inserted and/orwithdrawn from said void space, wherein a roller shutter is providedwhich is movable from an extended position in which the opening isclosed by the roller shutter to a retracted position in which theopening is substantially unobstructed, the roller shutter being woundonto a barrel arrangement as it is retracted, wherein in the retractedposition that portion of the roller shutter wound onto the barrelarrangement is located within the internal void space of the containerdefined by the wall portions.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the following drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container according to the presentinvention having a lid in a closed position;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the container of FIG. 2 with the lid inan open position;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the container of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a rear elevation of the container of FIG. 1 from a first,loading, end;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the container of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an end elevation of the container of FIG. 1 from a second,discharge, end;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of part of the container of FIG. 1taken on line X-X of FIG. 6, schematically showing the lid in open andclosed positions;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a part of the roller mechanism of the lidof FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a part of the lid of FIG.7 taken on line X-X of FIG. 6, with the lid in the closed position; and

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a part of the container of FIG. 1taken on line Y-Y of FIG. 3.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the present invention relates to a lid system20 for use on a container 1 which, by way of example during thisdescription and in the Figures, is described and illustrated as of therear end loader type. The rear end loader container 1 comprises a hollowsteel body having side walls 4, a front wall 6, a rear wall 7 and a roof5 defining a void space therein. A front opening 21 is provided at adischarge end 3 of the container 1 and a rear opening 13 is provided atan opposite, loading, end 2 of the container 1. In the example of thecontainer 1 shown in the Figures, the rear opening 13 is provided in asubstantially vertical portion of the rear wall 7 whilst the frontopening 21 is provided in a sloping section of the front wall 6 of thecontainer 1. The front opening 21 is substantially larger than the rearopening 13.

In use, an end user of the container 1 inserts waste material throughthe rear opening 13 into the internal void space of the container 1. Thecontainer 1 is then periodically emptied by means of a mobile compactionvehicle through the front opening 21.

The discharge end 3 of the container 1 is provided with a pick-up bar 8by which the mobile compaction vehicle may lift and tilt the container 1in order to empty it. The pick-up bar 8 comprises a length of hollowmetal tubing of square section and two cylindrical metal bars extendingfrom either end of the hollow tubing. Strengthening webs 9 are providedconnected to the pick-up bar 8 in order to strengthen the connection ofthe pick-up bar 8 to the front wall 6.

Feet 10 are provided on the container at a lower edge of the front wall6 to stabilise the container 1 when placed on the ground and wheninitially tipped.

It is known to provide doors 11 to close the rear opening 13 as shown inFIG. 4. The doors 11 are mounted to the rear wall 7 by means of hinges12 and rotate thereabout in order to open and close the rear opening 13.Optionally, the rear doors 11 may be locked to one another to preventopening of the rear opening 13 by means such as a padlock.

According to the present invention, a lid system 20 is provided to closeand secure the front opening 21. The lid system 20 comprises a rollershutter 22 formed from a plurality of slats 23 which are joined to oneanother so as to allow a degree of flexibility between each slat.Shutter guides 24 in the form of channel members are located on eachside of the front opening 21 and are rigidly mounted to the side walls4. The shutter guides 24 are mounted such that the opening of thechannel of each guide is directed inwardly towards one another. Theroller shutter 22 is received between the shutter guides 24 and isslidable therealong. The spacing of the two shutter guides 24 is suchthat, whilst the roller shutter 22 can slide along the shutter guides24, the roller shutter 22 cannot be lifted out of the plane of theshutter guides 24.

Immediately below each shutter guide 24 is provided a formed steelsection 25 as shown in FIG. 10 which acts to bear some of the transverseload imparted on the shutter guides 24 in use. In addition, the angledface 25 a of the steel sections 25 acts to deflect material passingthrough the front opening 21 such that the material passes the shutterguides 24 and is not caught or obstructed thereupon.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the roller shutter 22 is movable along theshutter guides 24 from a closed position in which the roller shutter 22completely covers the front opening 21 to an open position in which theroller shutter 22 is retracted such that the front opening 21 issubstantially open. As shown in FIG. 7, in the retracted position, theroller shutter 22 is wound onto a roller barrel 26 which is locatedwithin the container 1. The roller barrel 26 is rotatably mounted to apair of mounting plates 31 which are fixed either to the side walls 4 orto the roof 5 of the container 1 by welds or bolts. An arcuate bellyplate 27 is provided around the roller barrel 26 forming an encasementpanel between the roller barrel 26 and the internal void space of thecontainer 1. In use, the arcuate belly plate 27 prevents waste materialcontacting and potentially damaging or obstructing the operation of theroller barrel 26. This is especially important during emptying of thecontainer 1 at which point the container 1 is tipped up and the wastematerial would otherwise be brought into contact with the roller barrel26.

As shown most clearly in FIG. 8, the roof 5 of the container 1 isprovided with an aperture 44 through which the roller barrel 26 may beaccessed in order to carry out maintenance and inspections. In normaluse, the aperture 44 is covered by an access flap 28 which is rotatableabout a hinge 29 mounted on roof 5. The access flap 28 is retained inthe closed position by means of a threaded bolt 30.

As seen most clearly in FIG. 9, the free end of the roller shutter 22 isprovided with a leading edge arrangement 32. The leading edgearrangement 32 comprises an S-shaped metal section 34 which is bolted orwelded to the free end of the roller shutter 22. The S-shaped section 34comprises a shutter stop 37. A distal end of the S-shaped section isprovided with an eyelet 36. As shown in FIG. 9, when the roller shutter22 is in the closed position, the leading edge arrangement 32 is boughtinto close proximity with the pick-up bar 8 of the container 1. In thisposition, the S-shaped 34 extends upwardly and forwardly of the rearedge of the hollow square-section tubing of the pick-up bar 8. In thisway, vandalism is deterred since it is far more difficult to insert alever between the free end of the roller shutter 22 and the pick-up bar8 to attempt to lever open the roller shutter 22. The eyelet 36 providesan attachment point by which an end user may use a pole or similar tohook the eyelet 36 and pull down the roller shutter 22 from the openposition to the closed position, thereby making easier the operation ofthe roller shutter. Preferably, a pole is supplied with the lid system20 which interfaces with the eyelet 36.

In order to secure the roller shutter 22 in either the open or theclosed positions, a locking mechanism 38 is provided. The lockingmechanism 38 comprises two pairs of hasps 39, 49 which are mounted tothe side walls 4 of the container 1. A first pair of hasps 39 is mountedat or near the lower edge of the front opening 21 near the pick-up bar8. The second pair of hasps 49 is mounted at or near the top edge of thefront opening 21 near the access flap 28. Aligned with the pairs ofhasps 39, 49 are two pairs of pins 42, 52 which project outwardly fromthe side walls 4 of the container 1. In addition, a pair of pins 62 areprovided projecting upwardly from the roller shutter 22. Each of thepins 42, 52, 62 is provided with a hinged striker 43 which can bepivoted about the pin 42, 52, 62 from a position in which the striker 43is substantially axially aligned with the pin to a position in which thestriker 43 lies substantially transverse to the pin axis. FIG. 10 showsthe striker 43 in both of these orientations. The pin and strikerarrangement is also known as a droplock pin. In use, when the rollershutter 22 is in the closed position, the hasps 39 can be rotated abouttheir hinges so as to engage the pins 62 projecting from the rollershutter 22. The hinged striker 43 on each pin 62 can then be rotatedinto the transverse position in order to prevent the hasps 39 beingdisengaged. If required, a padlock or other locking means can beattached to the striker 43 to prevent disengagement of the hasp 39 by anunauthorised person.

In order to open the roller shutter 22, the hasps 39 are firstdisengaged from the pins 62 projecting from the roller shutter 22. Thehasps 39 are then rotated clear of the roller shutter 22 and the rollershutter 22 is retracted onto the roller barrel 26. The roller shutter 22can then be secured in the open position by rotating the top pair ofhasps 49 into engagement with the pins 62 projecting from the rollershutter 22. As before, the hasps 49 may be secured by rotating thehinged strikers 43 into the transverse position and securing with apadlock. In this way, the roller shutter 22 can be securely locked ineither the open or the closed position. When the hasps 39, 49 are notbeing used, for example, the lower pair of hasps 39 when the rollershutter 22 is in the open position, the hasps 39, 49 may be securelyengaged with the pins 42, 52 projecting from the side walls 4 of thecontainer 1.

An advantage of the lid system 20 of the present invention is that theroller mechanism is located within the void space of the container 1. Assuch, the external dimensions of the container 1 are not changed andconsequently the containers can readily be used with conventionallifting apparatus. In addition, neither of the openings 21, 13 areobscured.

A further advantage is that the lid system 20 can be retrofitted toexisting containers 1.

Whilst the present invention has been specifically described for usewith a rear end loader container, it can equally be applied to othercontainers having one or more openings through which material isinserted and/or withdrawn.

1. A container for waste material comprising wall portions defining aninternal void space and at least one opening through which wastematerial may be inserted and/or withdrawn from said void space, whereina roller shutter is provided which is movable from an extended positionin which the opening is closed by the roller shutter to a retractedposition in which the opening is substantially unobstructed, the rollershutter being wound onto a barrel arrangement as it is retracted,wherein in the retracted position that portion of the roller shutterwound onto the barrel arrangement is located within the internal voidspace of the container defined by the wall portions.
 2. A container asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the barrel arrangement is located at or nearan uppermost edge of the opening.
 3. A container as claimed in claim 1,wherein an encasement panel is provided to separate the barrelarrangement from the remainder of the internal void space.
 4. Acontainer as claimed in claim 3, wherein the encasement panel isarcuately shaped.
 5. A container is claimed in claim 1, wherein anaperture is provided in the wall portions through which the barrelarrangement may be accessed.
 6. A container as claimed in claim 5,wherein the aperture is closeable by an access flap.
 7. A container asclaimed in claim 6, wherein the access flap may be secured in the closedposition by means of a mechanical fastening means.
 8. A container ascontained in claim 1, wherein a leading edge of the roller shutter isprovided with anti-vandal means.
 9. A container as claimed in claim 8,wherein the anti-vandal means comprises a guard plate which preventsaccess to the leading edge of the roller shutter.
 10. A container asclaimed in claim 9, wherein the guard plate is formed as an S-shapedmetal section.
 11. A container as claimed in claim 22, wherein lockingmeans are provided to secure the roller shutter in the closed position.12. A container as claimed in claim 22, wherein locking means areprovided to secure the roller shutter in the open position.
 13. Acontainer as claimed in claim 22, wherein the locking means comprisesinter-engaging mechanical fastening means, wherein a first part of theinter-engaging means is mounted to the wall portions of the containerand the second portion of the inter-engaging means is secured to theroller shutter.
 14. A container as claimed in claim 13, wherein theinter-engaging means comprises one or more hasps and droplock pins. 15.A container as claimed in claim 1, wherein shutter guides are providedon either side of the opening to guide movement of the roller shutter.16. A container as claimed in claim 15, wherein the shutter guides arein the form of substantially U-shaped channels.
 17. A container asclaimed in claim 15, wherein means are provided to deflect materialpassing through the opening past the shutter guides.
 18. A container asclaimed in claim 17, wherein the deflecting means comprises an elementmounted beneath each shutter guide, wherein the element has an angledface serving to deflect material striking the face.
 19. A container asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the container is a waste receptacle.
 20. Acontainer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the container comprises twoopenings forming a loading aperture and a discharge aperture.
 21. A kitof parts for a lid system for a container comprising a roller shuttermovable from an extended condition to a retracted condition, a barrelarrangement onto which the roller shutter is wound as it is retracted,an encasement panel for enclosing the barrel arrangement when fitted toa container and at least one set of inter-engaging mechanical fasteningmeans for securing the roller shutter relative to a container.
 22. Acontainer as claimed in claim 1, wherein locking means are provided tosecure the roller shutter.